This week for Flora and Fauna Friday, we have a fragrant fungus found from fall to February, the Column Stinkhorn (Clathrus columnatus) also called Buzzard’s-Nose or what I refer to as “the stench of winter.”
Column Stinkhorn is a common fungus in gardens, yards, and fields. It’s a saprophytic species, meaning it feeds on dead organisms. Dead plants in the case of our stinkhorn. It is particularly fond of old mulch. The species is believed to be introduced to North America, as it tends to follow human developments as they spring up around the US. The part of the fungi you see is the fruiting bodies that we refer to as mushrooms. Mushrooms are a fungus’ version of a plant’s flowers. Except mushrooms yield spores instead of pollen or fruit. The main body of the fungus lies beneath the ground, spreading through the top soil. Like roots without a trunk.
Column Stinkhorn is a member of the Stinkhorn family, Phallaceae. Members of this family all share the traits of being saprophytic, smelling terrible, using insects to disperse spores, and producing a spongy mushroom. Members of this family produce mushrooms whose appearances range from unsettlingly demonic to geometrically elaborate to just plain vulgar.
The mushroom of the Column Stinkhorn is distinct, both in its appearance and its scent. Stinkhorns are one of many fungi that produce mushrooms shrouded in a structure called the universal veil. This is a thin white membrane that envelopes the mushroom as it develops. These immature mushrooms resemble clusters of eggs poking through the dirt at first. As the mushrooms mature, they split the veil and take their final shape. The remnants of the veil form a cup-like shape at the base called a volva. Column Stinkhorns produce three pink-orange columns joined at the top to create a three-legged arch. The flesh of this mushroom is spongy and porous. At the top, inside the arch, it exudes a green-brown slime that reeks of musky rotten flesh. This stink is not without a purpose though. Instead of driving all animals away, it draws the smallest ones in. This slime is sticky and filled with fungal spores. Spores are like a fungus’ microscopic seeds. The scent attracts flies and beetles looking for an animal carcass. As the insects clamber around our Stinkhorn, they become coated in this spore soaked slime. When they depart, they carry these spores with them. Potentially depositing them in the right habitats for our wee fungi.
